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The Presidents in Movies: The Kennedys (2011)

The Kennedys was a television miniseries which aired on ReelzChannel in the USA and on the History Television Network in Canada and in the United Kingdom. Filmed in Canada, it was a dramatic retelling of the story of the Kennedy family. The series starred Greg Kinnear as President John F. Kennedy, Katie Holmes as first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, Barry Pepper as Attorney-General Robert F. Kennedy and Tom Wilkinson as Ambassador Joseph P. Kennedy. The Kennedys was originally set to be broadcast on the History Channel in the United States, but in January, the network announced that it would not show the series. The History Channel decided to drop the series from its schedule in January, stating that it was "not a fit" for the network. The U.S. rights were purchased by ReelzChannel, which premiered the first two episodes on April 3, 2011.



The miniseries was divided into eight two-hour episodes. The first two episodes followed the Kennedy family from Joseph Kennedy's appointment as Ambassador to England in 1938 and his resignation in 1940; John F. Kennedy's wartime service aboard PT-109, his successful run for Congress in 1946 and for U.S. Senate in 1952, his meeting and 1953 marriage to Jacqueline Bouvier and his election to the Presidency in 1960. The controversial series included a dramatization of John Kennedy's infidelities. The third episode told the story of the Bay of Pigs Invasion, as well as FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover's confrontation of the Kennedy brothers with photographs of JFK's affair with Judith Campbell Exner, a woman with known ties to organized crime. Episode four included the story of JFK's relationship with Doctor Max Jacobson (nicknamed "Dr. Feelgood") for amphetamine shots and the relationship between JFK, Frank Sinatra and mobster Sam Giancana. In the episode, Hoover disclosed a wiretap of Giancana and fellow mobster Johnny Roselli implicating Joseph P. Kennedy in election fraud. The firth episode dealt with escalating racial tensions in the summer of 1961 and the efforts to enroll James Meredith in the whites-only University of Mississippi. Part six told the story of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Part seven dealt with Jackie Kennedy's loss of their newborn son Patrick, Marilyn Monroe's obsession with JFK and the days leading up to her suicide. It was also about the assassination of President Kennedy. The final episode portrayed Robert Kennedy as blaming himself for his brother's death, his New York senatorial campaign, Jackie Kennedy's decision to marry Aristotle Onassis, Robert Kennedy's decision to run for president and his 1968 assassination.



The miniseries was the subject of negative responses from historians, including charges of historical inaccuracy and presenting an unflattering depiction of the Kennedy family. Ted Sorensen, former speech writer for JFK, described the script as a "character assassination". The series met with a mixed reception from the critics. Based on 24 reviews from mainstream critics, it received an average score of 50/100. John Doyle of The Globe and Mail wrote, "it is awful – truly, mind-bogglingly tedious television. The series (made in Canada with Muse Entertainment as the production company) looks cheap and sticks to the TV dramatics level of an afternoon soap opera."

Following is a YouTube video of a trailer for the miniseries: